Electronically scored dart games conventionally are housed in a cabinet on which is supported a target having segments adapted to be displaced when struck by a thrown dart and electronic circuitry responsive to displacement of any of the segments to actuate a scoring mechanism. The cabinet conventionally supports not only the target and scoring mechanism, but also houses electronic circuitry, various displays, instructions for playing any selected one of a number of different dart games, selecting means for selecting the game that is to be played, audio-visual apparatus, a coin controlled operating mechanism, and the like.
Some of the dart games of the kind to which the invention relates have so-called spiders forming spaces in which individual target segments are positioned and removably retained. Some of these segments have a plurality of openings therein for the accommodation of the tip of a thrown dart so as to capture the dart. If a dart is thrown at high velocity, the tip may become so firmly wedged in an opening of a segment that considerable force must be exerted on the dart to extract it from the segment. In some cases the force exerted may be sufficient to cause the cabinet to tip, thereby exposing a player to injury and risking damage to the game itself.
In those dart games which utilize darts having plastic tips that are adapted to be accommodated in openings in the target segments, the tips occasionally break and remain embedded in the segments. An embedded tip prevents the tip of a subsequently thrown dart from being captured in the opening occupied by the broken tip, thereby causing the dart to fall to the floor. It is conventional practice, therefore, to remove broken tips from the target segments periodically. This necessitates opening the cabinet to obtain access to the rear of the target segments so as to enable the segments to be removed from the spider or to enable a tool to be inserted in a segment opening and push the broken tip therefrom. In conventional dart games, the target support is mounted for swinging movement about a vertical axis so as to provide access to the rear of the target segments. Unless considerable care is exercised in swinging the target about the vertical axis, some or all of the segments may fall out of the spider, thereby necessitating a tedious, time consuming replacement of such segments.
Dart games of the general class to which the invention relates often are placed in taverns for the amusement of patrons. It is not uncommon for beverages accidentally to be spilled on the cabinet in which the dart game is housed, and sometimes the beverage finds its way into the interior of the cabinet resulting in damage to the electrical circuitry.
Cabinets of the kind associated with electronically scored dart games conventionally are relatively tall and narrow, thereby resulting in a somewhat unstable unit that is especially difficult to maintain upright during shipment.
Apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention overcomes all of the problems referred to above.